This movie has several funny moments for a drama, and Ernest Borgnine shows he can still act at his age, putting in a great performance I feel should've won him an award. You will be crying at the end, as it's extremely bittersweet to see what happened to the farm in the end.

There is a lot wrong with this movie, but the aspect that I found most appalling was the producer / director / writer's insistence on compressing the magnificent rolling countryside of Northern Michigan into a confined, claustrophobic play. Where are the acres of cherry trees, the breath taking sudden views of Lake Michigan as one crests a tree studded hill, the grandeur of the fall foliage? Except for a splash of red here and there on the farm in dispute, this film could have been shot in downtown Detroit. The viewer is taken from one confining location to another without ever traveling the byways of this magnificent piece of God's country. Except for Ernest Borgnine, the actors are unknown and should remain so. They all resemble wooden mannequins portraying stereotypical characters. The most annoying of them is the so - called developer trying to turn paradise into a ghetto. He is played in such an unbelievably farcical manner that the serious issue of preserving America's beautiful land is reduced to a cartoon-ish dimension. I live here and I did not recognize the area. Forget this one.

Ernest Borgnine's performance in this film was perfect! I was raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm in the 60's and 70's and through this movie I was constantly reminded of my late friends and relatives and their manner of thinking and speaking from the heart and how they related with people both friend and foe. If you want an accurate understanding of the American family farmer you will get it from this film. Here Ernest Borgnine proved that he is an American treasure.